Thursday, April 21, 2011

I wrote about a sweet girl last year who said some sweet things that really touched my heart. She was a student of mine in my student teaching and one of my favorite kids (hypothetically, I mean... of course I don't have favorites... ahem). She was funny and kind and personable and all kinds of wonderful. Furthermore, she actually asked for help when she needed it. She worked her tail off and would come to see me in Ac Lab or on her own time to make sure that she understood what she was learning. She actually cared enough to seek me out and to let me teach her. I learned so much and gained so much from having her in my classroom.

I hope this doesn't come off the wrong way, and I hope it has become very clear that I am not full of myself. That being said, my donation is a bit different today. I've kept in touch with this student on and off throughout the year. My donation today is a simple letter, but I hope that this gesture is meaningful. I want this student to know that I still think about her and care about her and hope she's doing well. I really do.

One of the strange things about my profession is that I spend more time with these kids than I do with my own family throughout the year, but then they are somewhat abruptly not mine anymore. I'll say my sappy goodbyes and do my slidewshow with them at the end of the year, and then I'll never see some of them ever again. All of the hours I spend thinking about them and getting to know them and working with them and figuring them out and finally really understanding how they work... then they leave, and that's it.

This letter is a donation of sorts because I have all kinds of things fighting their way up and down my list of priorities asking for my time. Taking the time to continue my relationship with a student and to let her know that she is still important to me will hopefully be a meaningful "donation".

Does that make sense? I hope so. It's easy sometimes to pick a charity, post a link, and punch in my credit card number. However, on days like today where nothing is really jumping out at me, I think focusing my time and energy on something might be just as important.

Do you have a (hopefully) meaningful little letter of your own you might write?

******
Another teacher gave up her plan time today to come into my classroom. She was interested in what I was doing with the kids, and she wanted to check it out. That alone was exciting to me. She jumped right into the mix, and it was amazing to have another teacher giving the kids feedback and individual attention.

As if this wasn't lovely enough, Miss Helper gave me a bunch of little ego boosts along the way. She complimented me on the differentiation happening in my room (a real education buzzword!). She complimented me by having fun while playing with my kids and helping with their activities. She complimented me by coming up at the end of the hour and excitedly telling me about the ideas she had been brainstorming where we could work together and get our kids working together next year.

It's always nice to be recognized and appreciated, and it was something I really needed at the end of this long, crazy, weirdly scheduled two weeks.

Thank you, Miss Helper, you made my day.

P.S. How about that RENT-inspired Michael Scott tribute on "The Office" tonight? Amazing! Is it weird that I'll probably cry next week during his last episode?